Why Protecting Your Valuables is Important When Valet Parking

As part of PMSA’s ongoing campaign to advise consumers,  we explain the risks involved whenever they choose to use any valet parking services.

Parking Management Services of America publishes articles from time to time that we hope will answer the most popular questions within our industry. Leaving valuables in your vehicle when valet parking is one of the more important topics. Thus, we will explain why protecting valuables is a must for any client.

Most, if not all, insurance carriers of valet parking companies will not cover missing articles from a vehicle. They will deny coverage if there is any doubt that the article existed to begin with. This has been the position taken by most insurance carriers. Their goal is to prevent fraudulent claims. At PMSA, we advise clients to avoid leaving any valuables in their vehicle whenever choosing to valet park. This is not because of the integrity of the valet service itself. Instead, it’s because the valet parking company cannot be held responsible for the missing valuables. This applies if they were not found to be negligent.

Negligent is defined in the insurance industry as “failure to use a reasonable amount of care when such failure results in injury or damage to another.” As a result, clients should take preventive measures whenever valet parking. This is critical in their effort for protecting valuables.

Here is an example. If you didn’t inform the valet you have a laptop in your vehicle, you may not be able to confirm that the laptop existed. If the laptop is missing when your vehicle is brought back, you now have to prove that the laptop existed initially. That may not be so easy. If the valet company was informed of this fact prior to parking your vehicle, they can now be found negligent. This holds even if your vehicle was broken into or vandalized. This is because a reputable valet company would choose to park the vehicle in close sight. In order to monitor your vehicle while it is in their care.

When choosing to valet, PMSA encourages all clients to discuss liability and insurance coverages with service provider. It is also a good course of action to verify if the parking operator is a member of the National Parking Association (NPA) and the Better Business Bureau. Parking Management Services of America, as well as other reputable parking operators, are respective members of such organizations.